Ringing in the Change: Wives are upgrading their engagement rings as men often choose “safe” designs when proposing
- Victoria Beckham and the Duchess of Sussex among those who have been ‘upgraded’
- Experts say women often increase stone size, especially on an anniversary
It’s a trend favored by Victoria Beckham and the Duchess of Sussex.
Now many other married women choose to enhance or change engagement rings.
Jewelers say men tend to choose a “safe” design to propose with, but some wives later customize it to suit their own tastes if the couple can afford it.
Emma Clarkson Webb, of London’s Hatton Garden jewelers’ precinct, told the Sunday Times: “It’s not uncommon for an engagement ring to involve wanting to enhance or enlarge the stone size.
“Often this is done to celebrate a milestone anniversary.”
In a trend favored by Meghan Markle and Victoria Beckham, many other women are starting to upgrade their engagement rings (file image)
Prince Harry proposed to Meghan with a ring he designed, but she later replaced the gold band with one set with diamonds
Fellow jeweler Rachel Boston said, “When a partner is choosing the ring on their own, it’s understandable that they’d want to choose something relatively safe.
“But if you design together, you can choose something you really love.”
When Prince Harry first proposed to Meghan Markle in November 2017, he presented her with a bedazzler he designed with the help of the late Queen Elizabeth’s favorite jeweler, Cleave & Company.
To make the ring as meaningful as possible, the center stone was a Botswana diamond, alluding to the Duke and Duchess’ journey to the African nation early in their relationship. The other two stones had belonged to Princess Diana.
In her engagement interview, Harry said he designed the ring with a yellow gold band because it was Meghan’s “favourite”.
He added: “The little diamonds on either side are from my mum’s jewelry collection to ensure she’s with us on this crazy journey together.”
Describing the band as “gorgeous”, the Duchess reflected on how her fiancé designed the ring and said it was “amazing”.
However, at the Trooping the Color ceremony in 2019, royal fans noticed that the Duchess’ ring appeared to be slightly altered.
When the Duchess showed up, she had added a band to her ring collection that was an eternity ring. Prince Harry gave it to his wife on their first wedding anniversary.
However, the Duchess had also made changes to her original engagement ring, replacing the yellow gold ring Harry had chosen with a micro pavé ring instead.
Meghan isn’t the only Queen to have changed her sparkler over the years, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark also made changes to her engagement ring following Prince Frederik’s proposal in 2003.
The original ring, intended to represent the nation’s flag, featured an emerald-cut diamond and two emerald-cut rubies.
But over time Princess Mary has updated the ring by adding two baguette diamonds meant to represent the couple’s four children.
The value of the ring has increased by around £10,000 since she made these additions.